Double-walled nanotubes have electro-optical advantages
Rice theorists find that flexoelectric effects in double-walled carbon nanotubes could be highly useful for photovoltaic applications.
OpenStax surpasses $1 billion in textbook savings
Less than a decade after publishing its first free, openly licensed textbook, OpenStax — Rice’s educational technology initiative — has saved students $1.2 billion.
Sim shows how COVID virus infects cells
A simulation shows the complicated mechanism by which the SARS-CoV-2 virus may infect cells, leading to COVID-19.
‘Smart’ shirt keeps tabs on the heart
Carbon nanotube thread woven into athletic shirts gathered electrocardiogram and heart rate data that matched standard monitors and beat chest-strap monitors. The fibers are flexible and the shirts are machine washable.
HOUSTON – (Aug. 27, 2021) – Wealth inequality dropped in 2019 in the U.S. for the first time in almost three decades, but proposed tax legislation is threatening to reverse the progress, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Rice lab dives deep for DNA’s secrets
Structural biologist Yang Gao receives a five-year National Institutes of Health grant to detail how complex protein chains replicate DNA and fix errors on the fly. What they find could help treat genomic disease, including cancer.
US must take responsibility for Afghan refugees, says expert
As some Afghan refugees fleeing the chaos in their home country head to the United States, Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, argues that the U.S. is dodging responsibility by distributing most refugees across the globe, which will force them to wade through more bureaucracy.
Physicists find room-temperature, 2D-to-1D topological transition
Physicists have discovered a room-temperature transition between 1D and 2D electrical conduction states in the topological insulator bismuth iodide.
Drive-through voting is a hit with Harris County voters, according to newly released Rice U. survey
HOUSTON – (Aug. 24, 2021) – As Texas legislators continue fighting over election reform, a new survey from researchers at Rice University finds that drive-through voting is a big hit with Harris County voters who chose to cast their 2020 general election ballots in their cars – even among Republicans.
Trailblazing Rice bioengineer is turning cells into disease fighters
Rice University bioengineer Isaac Hilton has been awarded an NIH Trailblazer Award to create synthetic circular DNA that can be used to reprogram cells as disease fighters.
CPRIT grant establishes Genetic Design and Engineering Center
Rice faculty members led by bioengineer Gang Bao have been awarded a $4 million CPRIT grant to establish the Genetic Design and Engineering Center.
National 2D materials research center wins NSF funding
Rice, Penn State and Boise State have won a federal grant to expand ATOMIC, a national research center that develops atom-thin 2D coatings via university, industry and government partnerships.
Shale oil investments may be protected from nationalization, experts say
Shale oil’s short-cycle production protects foreign investors from the risk of expropriation — government taking private property for public use — providing an opportunity for the increasingly risk-averse global petroleum industry, according to a new report.
Rice U. study: Use your team’s emotions to boost creativity
HOUSTON – (Aug. 17, 2021) – If you’re putting together a team for a project, you might be inclined to pick people with cheerful, optimistic dispositions and flexible thinking. But a new management study indicates your team might also benefit from people who are exactly the opposite, according to experts at Rice University, the University of Western Australia, Bond University and the University of Queensland.
Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power
Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy.